Bone Broth / Super Collagen Soup - (骨胶汤 / 胶原蛋白汤)

This prolonged cooking of bones in water will give you results in a broth rich in nutritional constituents that promotes strength, nourish, help to prevent bone and connective tissue disorders and improves collagen level in your body!

Take a look at this real stuff. My bone broth produces a rubbery gelatin when chilled.

Home-made broth made from bones produces as much more nutritious gelatin that contains a wide range of minerals and amino acids. Most commercial gelatin products are made from animal skin and often contain MSG and something else that we might not know. Well. I'd prefer to consume real stuff, and cheaper too.

I prepared the soup in advance, chilled it. And I use the bone broth for some comforting noodles soup over the weekend. Of course, you could drink the soup just like that. Without noodles. It's up to you :)

Who doesn't know the goodness of collagen? I'd say, every woman should know! Collagen is the same as gelatin. It's just that the word Collagen used for its form when found in the body, and gelatin refers to the extracted collagen that is used as food. Gelatin is rich in amino acids. Although it is not a complete protein itself, it provides many amino acids and therefore decreases the amount of complete protein needed by the body.

Now, let me tell you where can you find collagen in nature and you could forget about botox. You see collagen almost everyday. It's in the skin, bones and joints of animals! For those people who say NO to pig skins, you totally have no idea how much collagen they have in there.

Ingredients

2 Huge Pork Bones 大猪骨

2 Chicken Carcass 鸡骨/鸡壳

20pcs Chicken Feet 鸡脚

200g Ground Nut / Raw Peanut, 花生 (Optional)

4.5L Water

Salt to taste (Optional)

Method

Pre-soak the peanuts overnight (or at least 5 hours) before use. Remove the skin from soaked peanut by rubbing it hard with each other. The reason is because I would prefer my soup to have a clearer broth. Peanut skins gives your soup darker color. Rinse the peanuts until water runs clear.

In a big soup pot, add in everything except salt. Bring to a boil for 10mins. Then reduce heat and simmer the soup over low heat for 4 hours.

After simmering the bones for several hours, remove all the bones and strain the broth. I wanted clear broth. So, I strained the broth 2nd time through a very fine hair sieve. You should get about 2L broth after strained. If you are drinking it fresh, lightly salt it. If you are keeping it as a stock for future use, it salt it only when you reheat it for consumption.

This is a pot of powerful soup. When you cook the bones, it breaks down the collagen and it becomes easily digestible. I added peanut in there, because peanuts gives extra nutrients. But if you are adding peanuts into the soup (like me), please please please pre-soak your peanut overnight and wash them well. If not, your soup will turn dark color. Peanut skin gives you dark soup.

If you have Crockpot or slow cooker at home, do use it. Cooking the broth on low setting is an easy way to cook broth for a prolonged time. Do bear in mind that it is a must to remove the surface scum that arises occasionally during the cooking process to achieve nicer tasting and clear looking broth.

NOTE :

Par-boiling and rinsing the bones before cooking and simmering the broth at low low heat is important. It helps to produce a clear broth as it greatly reduces the amount of residue in the liquid.

The broth should be set to cool until the fat hardens on top. Then, remove the fat and refrigerate the broth. It will keep well in the refrigerator for a week, or upto a month in the freezer.

If your broth is properly prepared, it will gives you a rubbery, jellylike consistency broth due to the high gelatin content of the collagen. It is a great idea to prepare in advance, reheat it as a simple nutritious drink, or like me, use it for noodles.

And if your broth looks like jello after it is chilled, YOU ARE A ROCK STAR!!!

I reheat the jello-like bone broth to cook up some noodles here. It's simple, delicious, nutritious, and you don't need instant noodles anymore!

Ahhh!!! I love collagen! God knows how much! Look at the broth!

This is a super collagen soup. My grandma once told me... you drink this soup, you will become pretty. Oh well... olden days doesn't know what's collagen nor amino acid for sure :)

No doubt pig skin has collagen but there is plenty of fat. Hence, not worth eating the pig skin to obtain this form of natural collagen if I know I am going to put on weight.

But your clear soup broth is worthy source in obtaining natural collagen because when the soup is put in the fridge overnight, the fat formed on top can be easily be skimmed off before using the fat-less gelatin.

Hi Janice, 1. I never own a thermal cooker before. But i personally don't think thermal cooker will be able to do this job. Because you will need constant heat, so that the collagen goodness will be extracted out from the ingredients.

2. I do not have a child on my own yet. I have no idear on toddler's diet. Maybe you may wanna ask your fellow seniors at home :)

Hi Janice, 1. I never own a thermal cooker before. But i personally don't think thermal cooker will be able to do this job. Because you will need constant heat, so that the collagen goodness will be extracted out from the ingredients.

2. I do not have a child on my own yet. I have no idear on toddler's diet. Maybe you may wanna ask your fellow seniors at home :)

Hi Rose, I tried keeping it for more than 3 months. It's unintentional, i left in the freezer and totally forgotten about it. It taste good. No problem. I'm not sure what will happen if it is more than 3 months as I never try before. If you tried it, pls let me know :)

Hi, I tried boiling 2 pots with one using thermal. The one using thermal is not as milky as the one on the stove. I think I must get a pressure cooker as this is time consuming. My hubby is also complaining about the smell and he can't stand it lol.

Hi Little Prince, thermal pot doesn't have sustained fire heat to 'extract' the gelatinous goodness. So, I don't recommend thermal pot. As for the 'smell', I suspect you bought 'male pig' bones. 'Male pig' gives very strong pig smell. I can't stand it. We couldnt identify it until we cook it and the strong smell comes. Pls don't give up. Do try it again :)